It was written ages ago that “God rested on the seventh day.”<\/p>\n
It was also said that<\/a> “On the eighth day, God created Erik Karlsson.”<\/p>\n What, you don’t remember that part of the creation story? Ok, I’ll admit it. This quote is relatively new. It was coined by Ottawa Senators general manager Pierre Dorion<\/strong> in reference to his captain; and what he has been able to do in the post-season so far. Dorian made the comments after their series win against the Boston Bruins in the first round.<\/p>\n The Senators now lead their Eastern Conference Second Round series against the New York Rangers three games to two. They sit one complete 60-minute effort away from going to their third\u00a0Eastern Conference Final in franchise history. With Ottawa in the driver’s seat, many pundits would argue that the Senators would not even have sniffed the postseason let alone be in the position to play for the right to punch a ticket to the Stanley Cup Final without their rock on the back end in the form of Erik Karlsson<\/strong>, and for good reason.<\/p>\n Karlsson, by himself, is superhuman and has been known to be so since he came into the league winning the Norris Trophy twice turning in four consecutive 15+ goal, 65+ point seasons. However,\u00a0the most remarkable thing about the Landsbro native elevating his game come springtime is his strength to power through a burden that would send the average player to the press box. He could say that he went through worse suffering a severe Achilles injury<\/a> back in 2013 that set him back months before returning to suit up in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He dominated even then, scoring eight points in ten games after the layoff. Karlsson also carried a 53% Corsi-for percentage leading all defensemen in Corsi-for per 60 minutes at 67.39.<\/p>\n Suffering two hairline fractures in his heel<\/a> on March 28th after blocking a shot against the Philadelphia Flyers, all Karlsson has done since is\u00a0score seven goals and 24 points. He is carrying a 52% Corsi-for percentage in those 24 games.\u00a0Just a flesh wound.<\/p>\n Hence, the divine touch described by Dorion.<\/p>\n In 11 postseason games, the soon-to-be 27-year old Swede has recorded a goal and an NHL-leading 11 points among defensemen. That is just three less than the rest of the Sens blueline combined. This is a trend that carries from the regular season, as he accounted for 44% of the blue line’s 161 total points. He was in on an incredible 33% of the Senator’s entire offensive output with his 17 goals and 71 points.\u00a0In the 5-4 overtime victory in Game 5, he punctuated his impact\u00a0with three more assists, including starting the play on the game-tying goal late as well as Kyle Turris<\/a><\/strong>‘s overtime winner.<\/p>\nInside Erik Karlsson<\/a>‘s Dominance Through Perseverance<\/h2>\n
The eighth day was a special one.<\/h3>\n